SUPERNATURAL SUPPLY

1. Introduction

a) As Citizens of heaven (children of God) we never have to worry, God shall supply! He is the one who will initiate and make a way for us. He is the one that is trying to get every heavenly and earthly blessings to us. This supply comes out of God's glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

i) Paul says, 19And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 NIV)

ii) Paul also says, 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

iii) Paul is convinced that the supernatural supply of strength he received from the Lord allows him to do everything possible in his life. This supply comes out from God's supernatural strength.

b) This supernatural supply involves the 'Trinity' i.e. God the Father, God the Son (Christ Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. The reason being that the supply is supernatural.

i) 'Supernatural' means pertaining to, or being or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal. It also means pertaining to characteristic of, or attribute to God or a deity.

ii) 'Supply' means to furnish or provide with what is lacking. It also means to make up, compensate for, or satisfy a deficiency, loss, need etc.

c) Therefore, we are talking about a God that provides i.e. Jehovah Jireh 'The Lord will provide - God will provide our real needs'.

i) 13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." (Genesis 22:13, 14 NIV)

2. What are the Biblical records of 'Supernatural Supply'?

a) Supply of protection and direction

i) 15On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. (Numbers 9:15, 16 NIV)

@1. In the daytime, there was extreme heat in the desert. The cloud protected the children of Israel from the heat of the sun. In the night, there was extreme cold and the changing of the cloud to the appearance of fire kept them warm and protected them from extreme cold.

ii) 17Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord's order and did not set out. 20Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23At the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out. They obeyed the Lord's order, in accordance with his command through Moses. (Numbers 9:17-23 NIV)

@1. The children of Israel followed the direction given by the fire-cloud. This direction was clearly by movement of the fire-cloud, whether stayed or moved.

b) Supply of food and water

i) Supply meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning

@1.1 4Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days." (Exodus 16:4, 5 NIV)

@1.2 11The Lord said to Moses, 12"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.'" 13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. (Exodus 16:11-14 NIV)

@1.3 31The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. (Exodus 16:31 NIV)

@1.4 7The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. (Numbers 11:7 NIV)

ii) 31Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits (3 Or 4 feet) deep all around the camp, as far as a day's walk in any direction. (Numbers 11:31 NIV)

c) Supply water

i) Turn bitter water to sweet

@1. 22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" 25Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. (Exodus 15:22-25 NIV)

ii) Supply water from the rock

@1.1 7The Lord said to Moses, 8"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." (Numbers 20:7, 8 NIV)

@1.2 11Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. (Numbers 20:11 NIV)

d) Supply healing

i) 4They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. (Numbers 21:4-9 NIV)

e) Supply abundance

i) Grant abundant prosperity

@1. 11The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 12The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. (Deuteronomy 28:11-13 NIV)

ii) The jar of flour and jug of oil did not run dry

@1.1 8Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9"Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food." 10So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." (1 Kings 17:8-11 NIV)

@1.2 12"As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die." 13Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.'" 15She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:12-16 NIV)

3. How do we activate this 'Supernatural Supply'?

a) By faith. Why? Because faith is the only currency that heaven accepts for activating the supernatural supply of protection and direction, food and water, healing and abundance.

b) 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:17 NIV)

c) 1Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

d) Abraham learnt a definition of faith:

Faith is believing it is so
When it is not so
Because you know
God is going to make it so!

e) 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

f) 26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26 NIV)

4. How can we have this faith?

a) Simple as ABC

i) 'A' for Acknowledge (accept and receive)

@1.1 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

@1.2 12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12, 13 NIV)

ii) 'B & C' for Believe and Confess

@1. 9If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9, 10 NIV)

iii) 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NIV)

iv) 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:5, 6 NIV)

v) The question now is this: "Do we want to receive Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour so that by having faith in him, will be able to activate supernatural supply of God's glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

5. Prayer focus

a) Pray for salvation of our souls.

b) Pray for supernatural supply of God's goodness in our lives.